Navigation Links
A well-defended territory is what some female hummingbirds find most attractive in a mate
Date:4/7/2010

When it comes to attracting a mate, flowers and sweets often do the trickeven for one of the world's smallest birdsthe purple throated carib, a hummingbird species native to the mountainous islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Scientists recently discovered that it is in the best interest of male purple-throated caribs to defend and maintain a territory with a high density of nectar-producing flowers. Why? Because it is the quality of this territoryrather than flashy plumage or elaborate courtship displaysthat attracts the most females.

John Kress, a botanist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and Ethan Temeles, an ornithologist and biology professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, have spent several years researching purple throated caribs (Eulampis jugularis) in the wild on the island of Dominica. What they observed was unique among all bird species: successful male caribs maintained and defended territories with nectar supplies that were two to five times greater than their daily needs and also isolated part of their crop for the exclusive feeding rights of visiting females. The key to this female-only feeding area was the presence of heliconia flowers.

"This is the first time such behavior has ever been observed in a bird species," said Kress. "Not only is the male defending a huge territory from competing males, but he's also defending a big chunk of it exclusively for females who he is trying to attract as potential mates. He is farming the nectar for these dual purposes."

Male and female purple throated caribs are alike in plumage, but males are considerably larger and have longer wings than females. Females, however, have bills that are 20 percent longer and 30 percent more curved than the bills of the males, meaning that they are physically able to feed from flowers that males cannot. This is also known as "sexual resource partitioning" and for the purple throated carib it applies to two spec
'/>"/>

Contact: John Gibbons
gibbonsjp@si.edu
202-633-5187
Smithsonian
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related medicine news :

1. Texas Health Dallas Launches Screening Program for Female Heart Disease
2. Older female cancer survivors have added health issues compared to their counterparts
3. Over 3000 Participants Expected at “Zero Tolerance to FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Run”
4. Female Teachers Pass on Math Anxieties
5. Female athletes injured more than male athletes
6. Restrictions on female plasma may not be warranted
7. College Age Females Can Kiss Chlamydia Goodbye for Valentines Day
8. Restrictions on Plasma From Female Donors May Need Revisiting
9. Senegal: Total End of Female Genital Cutting Now in Sight
10. Why BPA leached from safe plastics may damage health of female offspring
11. Chicago AIDS Advocates Launch Female Condom Campaign
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
A well-defended territory is what some female hummingbirds find most attractive in a mate
(Date:6/19/2013)... Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at Louisiana State University ... that require immediate therapy. It relies on understanding the ... is to better predict a prostate cancer,s aggressiveness to ... published in the online journal PLOS ONE ... accounts for 20 percent of all cancers and 9 ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Brightree LLC , the leading ... for the post-acute care industry, has been ranked for the ... Healthcare Informatics 100 (HCI 100) list. This prestigious list ... in terms of revenue during the last fiscal year. Since ... 85% annually, and the company has built its organization to ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 Kansas ... as part of Main Street Day . A section of ... and pedestrian traffic during the afternoon of the event. The ... to host the event, which will help Kansas City join the ... have used Ciclovia as a tool to foster community vibrancy and ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Louis, MO (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 ... organization, partnered with ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies to help ... management plan with savings of more than 17 ... and maintenance service expenditures. , “Driving economies of ... top medical equipment management challenges facing multi-site providers,” ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Crawley, UK-- New data, published today in ... Britain are experiencing less sex, and less satisfying ... counterparts1, because they are considerably less likely to ... called vaginal atrophy1. , The first-of-its-kind study, called ... Relationships (CLOSER) study, showed that British post-menopausal women ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Moffitt Cancer Center researchers identify genetic variants predicting aggressive prostate cancers 2Health News:Brightree Debuts on List of Top 100 Healthcare Technology Companies 2Health News:Brightree Debuts on List of Top 100 Healthcare Technology Companies 3Health News:Main Street Corridor Development Corporation and BikeWalkKC Partner to Host Main Street Day and Kansas City’s First Ciclovia 2Health News:Main Street Corridor Development Corporation and BikeWalkKC Partner to Host Main Street Day and Kansas City’s First Ciclovia 3Health News:Amerinet Partners with ARAMARK Healthcare Technologies to Help Pacific Medical Centers Save 17 Percent and Better Manage System-Wide Equipment Program 2Health News:British women 50 percent less likley to recieve treatment for common menopausal symptoms 2
... E. coli infection from tainted spinach. E. coli experts like ... University// of British Columbia in Canada, can explain how the ... Finlay's lab determined the molecular structure of E. coli, information ... as well as a vaccine for cattle, because E. coli ...
... seem to be at significantly greater risk of developing ... of print in the journal Gut. ,The ... 1250 of whom were identical. The twins completed a ... ever had IBS. ,This information was then ...
... agent involved in food poisoning and account for hundreds ... invades by stealth and hides from macrophages before entering ... macrophages are the cells meant to detect such bacteria. ... turning predator cells to prey complicit in promoting infection, ...
... up to 23,000 junior doctor training posts in the UK next ... [JDC], Dr Tom Dolphin, said ,"The BMA is delighted ... number of training posts, and this goes a long way towards ... concerned about what happens to those who do not get into ...
... The injection is safe when performed by physicians experienced ... and sustained, according to the one-year, multi-center cohort study. ... study, the mean pain score on a 10-point visual ... 1.4 at two weeks, 0.5 at 24 weeks, and ...
... officials have reported the death of two women after consumption ... had previous history of health problems.//, ,Agriculture Commissioner Tommy ... they did something they shouldn’t have done and they lost ... a major health threat. ,The DeKalb Farmers’ Market ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Restricted Fetal Growth Increases Risk of Irritable Bowel Syndrome 2Health News:Salmonella Bacteria Are Deceptive 2Health News:Sacroplasty Safe and Effective to Reduce Low Back Pain 2Health News:Sacroplasty Safe and Effective to Reduce Low Back Pain 3
(Date:6/19/2013)... , June 19, 2013 Today ... solutions, introduced the next-generation of its Employer ... allows health plans to provide their employer groups ... health factors, medical and prescription drug claims, network ... (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100621/SF23660LOGO ) "Employer ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... 2013  It may seem like an odd pairing: an ... But these were two of the most talked about topics ... Meeting & Expo that just convened in San ... by some of the top internal medicine experts in the ... research that can not only save lives, but help people ...
(Date:6/18/2013)...  Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  (NASDAQ: ICPT ), ... and commercialization of novel bile acid therapeutics to treat ... underwritten public offering of 1,730,000 shares of its common ... share.  In addition, Intercept has granted the underwriters a ... shares of common stock. All of the ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:MedeAnalytics Introduces Next-Generation Employer Group and Individual Business Analytics Solution 2"Miracle" Breast Cancer Drug and "Youth Hormone" Pill Steal Show at Prestigious Endocrine Society Conference 2"Miracle" Breast Cancer Drug and "Youth Hormone" Pill Steal Show at Prestigious Endocrine Society Conference 3"Miracle" Breast Cancer Drug and "Youth Hormone" Pill Steal Show at Prestigious Endocrine Society Conference 4Intercept Pharmaceuticals Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock 2
... Contributing Editor Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small, closed ... nucleic acid sequence homology rather than serologic reactivity. ... transmitted pathogens. Of the approximately 50 anogenital ... and intermediate risk types detected in anogenital cancer ...
... Londe, M.D. Contributing Editor Clinical guidelines from the disciplines ... emphasized the importance of cardiac markers in diagnosing or ... cardiac troponins is especially useful in the large fraction ... have negative 12-lead EKGs. About 30% of patients ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Testing for Human Papillomavirus 2Testing for Human Papillomavirus 3Point of Care Cardiac Analyzers Yield Rapid Cardiac Marker Results 2Point of Care Cardiac Analyzers Yield Rapid Cardiac Marker Results 3
Use Streck-Sheath to count and classify white blood cells on the Abbott CELL-DYN® 3000, 3500 and 3700. The shelf life is two years from date of manufacture...
A lytic reagent manufactured for the simultaneous quantitative determinations of hemoglobin and white blood cells. Streck-Lysing Agent III is for use on the Abbott CELL-DYN® 1400 and 1600. The sh...
Streck-CD3500 Hemoglobin/Lyse is a lytic reagent for the quantitative determination of hemoglobin on the Abbott CELL-DYN® 3500 and 3700. The shelf life is two years from the date of manufacture....
Streck-Diluent IIIA is a balanced electrolyte solution manufactured specifically for use as a diluent for blood cell counting and sizing on the Abbott CELL-DYN® 1700. The shelf life is one year f...
Medicine Products: